December 6, 2023 - Screw cap. 13.5% alc.
Dark garnet, minimal bricking. Good balance between dark fruits and layered, textures of leather, earth, dark chocolate. Good appeal, and at a peak.
November 24, 2023 - Decanted half into bottle for later.
Mousy nose that does not dissipate. Brett? I would not expect it from Giaconda, but checking my prior notes, I believe this is present.
Ditto palate. Underlying fruit is very good but it’s masked by the mousy character that is not dissipating. Disappointing.
7 hours later - half a glass left in a half bottle saw this character breathe off, to my surprise and relief. I have re-rated it accordingly.
Day 2 and 2nd bottle from the magnum. Beautifully clean, complex black cherry aromas with round, full flavours. Good weight, medium length, great balance of richness and elegance. By far the best I have had of this wine, as my prior notes will show. Great to leave it with fond memories.
February 16, 2023 - One of the most exciting Syrah tasted lately and we have a bunch under the belly :)
Smells of licorice, sooth, ashes, dark berry fruits, black and blueberry, oak is now perfectly integrated in some wet leaves, forrest floor style, but the wine is mostly over spices and cloves, and the ashes/sooth
Palate is still vibrant with good acidity, powdery tannins, smooth oily texture and very long ashes/sooth and spices aftertaste. This is an incredible bottle. made for Europeans and French shah lovers. This to me is way better than most Barossa over extracted and fruity big style Shiraz.
Quintessential Syrah at its best with still a few years ahead. Again my feeling, like with Napa Cab, our palates are in their comfort zone here, less alcohol, more refined bodies... Colder vintages in Southern Hemisphere or in California mean a lot more acidity and less fruit, more complexity and more depth... another style
Stunner
January 22, 2023 - Black core, red rim.
Deep dark fruit, spice and licorice fragrance.
Ripe dark berries , mulberry, plums, graphite and tar. Silky long even palate , good acidity, very fine tannins . Fruit sweetness is still intense while the impact of secondary flavours is only marginally increased since it’s youth. At its peak, but barely faded at 18 years. Impressive.
December 16, 2022 - From magnum. Fine deposit, mostly tartrate. Decanted into a carafe for now and a bottle for later.
Deep red.
A little musty on opening. Breathed up.
Fine, spicy Shiraz. Fine oak balance. Fully mature.
Spicy Shiraz. Held by its acid. Medium weight. Long. Not for further keeping though will hold for several years.
Ultimately, doesn’t excite. May have a few years ago.
23/12 Second half. Similar view. Beginning to fade. Drink up. From my experience, the bottle has already died.
June 16, 2022 - This bottle is past its best. Comments from other recent tastings suggest it is below par. In essence, the fruit has gone. I will check it in a few hours.
7 hours later, no better. Sink a drink material.
March 31, 2022 - Third improved overnight with gas and was fantasy, such tasty condition.
January 15, 2022 - Dinner with R&Y and B&A: Recognisably the same lineage as the 02 alongside, though this a full degree less abv. Slightly more monolithic and less nuanced. Very dense and smooth, lots of potential but as with the 02 this requires patience. Decanted 4 hrs in advance. ****
November 28, 2021 - Screw cap.
Smoke, dark berries, dark chocolate. Seamless palate of mid-weight. Oak and tannins integrated. Balanced. Drinking so well tonight.
April 15, 2021 - Exquisite, relatively low alcohol; very smooth, with a subtle nose and broken tannins and delicate fruit; great balance.